314 BLUEFIELDS. 



in basking in the sun, and to huddle together, and 

 grunt out their pleasure in each other's company." 



The skin of one of the specimens obtained in this 

 expedition Mr. Wilkie kindly presented to me ; a 

 courtesy the value of which was enhanced by the 

 fact of its being one of the chief of the opima spolia, 

 a sort of trophy of his own exploits. It is now in 

 the British Museum. As the skull was not pre- 

 served, the actual identity of the species with the 

 smaller specimen described by Mr. Hill, cannot with 

 certainty be established ; and there seems a little dis- 

 crepancy in the proportions, as will be seen by com- 

 paring the admeasurements of Mr. Hill's, already 

 given, with the following, which were taken from 

 Mr. Wilkie's specimen : — 



ft. in. 



Length from nose to tip of tail - - - -66 



Circumference at fore paws - - - - 3 4 



Length of fore paw - - - - -01 1^^ 



„ hind paw - - - - - 10| 



„ tail - - - - - - 2 



The fur is of a nearly uniform dirty ash-grey, 

 black at the base, and grey at the tips of the hairs ; 

 it is slightly mottled on the belly ; it is very close 

 and stiiF, and not more than one-fourth of an inch 

 long. The vibrissce or whiskers are from an inch to 

 an inch and three quarters long ; white, with one on 

 each side dark brown. 



THE YELLOW BOA. 



A serpent of the Boa kind ( Chilabothrus inomatus) 

 is commonly found around Bluefields, and I believe 

 in most parts of the Island, and is distinguished by 



